Some spirits stop you mid-sentence. The first time I tasted this cider brandy — many years ago now — it did exactly that. Not because it was loud or showy, but because it was quietly complete. Deeply orchard-led, patiently matured, and unmistakably English in character. It was the kind of spirit that carries time with it.

That spirit came from the King Offa Distillery, a small but hugely important distillery founded in the 1980s by Bertram Bulmer. After a determined battle with HMRC, King Offa became the first distillery in modern times to be granted a licence to produce cider brandy in England, reviving a tradition that had almost disappeared. Much of that spirit was laid down in oak and then left — quite deliberately — to do its own thing.

When the distillery closed in the early 1990s, the remaining stocks were taken into the care of the Museum of Cider in Hereford, where they’ve been preserved ever since.

At Ludlow Distillery, cider brandy has been part of our story since 2008. Long before I owned the business, the distillery was working with cider apples, distilling on a traditional wood-fired still that we still use today, and producing cider brandy, eaux de vie, and pommeau-style aperitifs for artisan cider makers across the region. So when the opportunity came to work with the Museum of Cider to bring the King Offa spirit into bottle, it felt like a natural meeting of paths.

This collaboration is about stewardship as much as it is about flavour. These are not spirits to rush, overwork, or reimagine. Our job has simply been to bottle them carefully, honestly, and in a way that allows people to experience them as they are.

The result is King Offa Cider Brandy, bottled at 42% ABV and available in both 50cl and 20cl formats. The 20cl in particular has been important to us — it makes this rare spirit accessible, something to open and enjoy rather than just admire on a shelf.

In the glass, it’s everything we hoped it would be: baked apple, soft spice, gentle oak, and a long, warming finish that speaks of patience rather than power. It’s a spirit that rewards time — both the time it has already had, and the time you give it when you drink it.

The brandy is available now from the Ludlow Distillery shop, the Museum of Cider shop in Hereford, and selected regional retailers. We’ll be releasing it carefully and in small batches, respecting both the age of the spirit and the fact that once it’s gone, it’s gone.

We’re also looking ahead. This partnership with the Museum of Cider is not a one-off, and we’re already working on a further collaborative release planned for summer next year, continuing the shared aim of celebrating cider heritage in liquid form.

For now though, it’s a real pleasure to finally see King Offa Cider Brandy back in the glass — not as a museum piece, but as what it was always meant to be: a spirit to be enjoyed.

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King Offa Cider Brandy – 30 year old